Cantave last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Cantave is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cantave.

Meaning of Cantave

An occupational surname derived from a Latin word meaning "singer" or "vocalist".

Cantave, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cantave surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cantave in America

Cantave is the 30946th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cantave surname appeared 751 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Cantave.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cantave to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 30946 40622 -27.04%
Count 751 507 38.79%
Proportion per 100k 0.25 0.19 27.27%

The history of the last name Cantave

The surname Cantave is believed to have originated in the Provence region of southern France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French words "cant" meaning "song" and "ave" meaning "have" or "possess." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who composed or performed songs, possibly a troubadour or minstrel.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Cantave surname can be found in a medieval document from the 13th century, which mentions a certain Guilhem Cantave, a wandering poet from the town of Avignon. This provides evidence of the name's connection to the artistic and literary culture of medieval Provence.

Another notable figure bearing the Cantave name was Bertrand Cantave, a merchant from the city of Marseille who lived in the late 14th century. Historical records indicate that he was involved in the lucrative spice trade between Europe and the East, reflecting the commercial prosperity of the region during that period.

In the 15th century, a small village near the town of Arles was known as Cantaveaux, which likely derived its name from a local family with the Cantave surname. This suggests that the name had become established in the area by that time.

One of the earliest known instances of the Cantave surname in England can be traced back to a certain Jean Cantave, a French Huguenot refugee who fled religious persecution in his homeland and settled in London in the late 16th century. This highlights the dispersal of the name across Europe during times of conflict and migration.

Another noteworthy individual with the Cantave surname was Pierre Cantave, a renowned artist and sculptor from the city of Aix-en-Provence, who lived in the 17th century. His works, which included numerous religious sculptures for local churches, were highly regarded during his lifetime and have become important examples of the Baroque style in southern France.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cantave

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cantave.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cantave was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 2.80% 21
Non-Hispanic Black Only 90.55% 680
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.93% 22
Hispanic Origin 3.73% 28

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cantave has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 2.80% 0.99% 95.51%
Black 90.55% 87.57% 3.35%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 2.93% 9.27% -103.93%
Hispanic 3.73% 1.97% 61.75%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cantave was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cantave, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Cantave last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/cantave-surname-popularity/.

"Cantave last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/cantave-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Cantave last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/cantave-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.